What's Left of Klaus
by snappleapple518
Summary: Klaus' thoughts upon meeting Isadora for the first time after she sailed away.


_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the ASOUE characters, or the series. Those all belong to Daniel Handler, and that is a good thing, because if they belonged to me, none of you would want to read about them. I also do not own the song "What's Left of Me" by Nick Lachey._

**What's Left of Klaus:**

Klaus squinted to see through the fog as the black car drove up the road bordering Briny Beach. He felt tears pricking in his eyes, but tried to contain them. Only one spilled out before he was able to control himself. He quickly brushed the single tear away.

And it was then that he saw her. She stepped out of the car, and he felt as if he had been hit by a boulder. His heart pounded, and he felt as if he might faint. There she was.

Isadora Quagmire…

The ingenious poet…

The girl that he never thought would love him…

The girl he wasn't sure did.

She walked up to him and took his hand.

"Klaus…" she whispered in his ear.

"Isy." He said, and then that was all he could say, before his voice choked up. She was so beautiful. So gentle. So nice… much too nice for a bad kid like him. A kid who had done many villainous things. Maybe not as many as Count Olaf, but it wasn't the number that counted. It was the fact that he'd done them at all.

**Watch my life pass me by  
in the rearview mirror  
Pictures frozen in time  
are becoming clearer  
I don't wanna waste another day Stuck in the  
shadow of my mistakes  
yeah**

"Are you crying, Klaus?" she said, her voice laced with utmost concern.

"No, no, Isadora. I'm not." He said, trying to sound strong, when in reality what he felt was very weak.

"It's okay, Klaus. You don't need to do this. I've heard. What's her name? I know she hurt you." she told him. "No one ever needs to hurt you, Klaus." She said.

Klaus just looked into her beautiful brown eyes, and couldn't say a single word. Especially not the one word he needed to say.

Fiona…

The only other girl he'd ever thought he might have loved. And then the whole idea came smashing down on him. She'd left him. Just as she'd walked through the smashed window, she'd smashed through his heart, and left him broken.

The only bit of his heart that still felt like it was beating belonged to the girl standing in front of him.

"What was her name, Klaus?" he asked.

"Fiona. Her name was Fiona." He looked down at the ground.

"Did you love her Klaus?" she asked. He noticed that she was saying his name a lot. He wondered if it felt sweet on her lips like her name did on his. Isadora… what a joy it was to say.

"I, I think I did, Isadora." He said, looking down, not able to meet her eyes.

**  
'cause I want you  
and I feel you  
crawling underneath my skin like  
a hunger**  
**like a burning  
to find the place I've never been  
now I'm broken  
and I'm fading  
I'm half the man I thought I would be  
But you can have  
What's left of me**

She pulled him into a hug.

"No one ever needs to hurt you, Klaus. No one ever needs to." She said again.

"Someone's going to." He said, his voice cracking halfway through it.

"Not if I have anything to say about it." She said, her voice sounding much stronger than his.

"You are strong, Isadora. Much stronger than me." He said, sounding ashamed.

"No, Klaus, I am not. If I was strong I would not have spent those months up in that air balloon. I would have stayed with you, Klaus. You and Sunny and Violet. I would have stayed. But instead I ran, Klaus. _I_ ran, Klaus, but _you_, you stayed for the fight. You stayed and stood up for what you believed in." She looked at him with such admiration that he did not feel as if he deserved.

**I've been dying inside  
Little by little  
Nowhere to go  
But goin' out of my mind  
In endless circles  
runnin' from myself until  
You gave me a reason for standing still**

All of a sudden he fell into her arms, collapsing, his chest breathing hard.

"Are you okay, Klaus!?" Isadora said breathlessly.

"I'm fine." He said, "Just tired." He admitted.

She held him up, despite the fact that he was much heavier than her.

**Falling faster  
Barely breathing  
Give me somethin' to believe in  
Tell me it's not all in my head**

**  
**"Let's sit down, Klaus." She said, and they both collapsed on the wooden bench behind them.

He slid his hand into hers.

"I missed you, Klaus." She said looking at him, her face completely content.

"I missed you too, Isadora. I missed you, so much." He leaned in and kissed her.

The kiss lasted for a few moments when she pulled away, and leaned his head towards her.

"Can I ask you something, Klaus?" she said looking slightly troubled.

"Anything." He told her.

"Is there anything left, Klaus? Is there anything left?" she repeated.

"Left of what, Isadora?" he said, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Your heart, Klaus. Is there anything left of their heart?" She asked.

He stared at her for a moment.

"Right now, I'm not sure. But being with you… it makes me feel whole. But Isadora…" he looked at her?

"Yes?"

"If there is anything left… you can have it. You can have what's left of me."

**I've been dying inside you see  
I'm going out of my mind  
Out of my mind  
I'm just runnin' in circles all the time  
Will you take what's left?  
Will you take what's left?  
Will you take what's left?**

**  
**


End file.
